Reviews

It’s no secret that Keyshia Cole has been working on new material and giving us tasters off the new album. Personally when I heard the collaboration with French Montana and Remy Ma on the ‘You’ single I was excited and thought it was a good come back as its upbeat but she still kept it real with her meaningful lyrics.

Now Keyshia is officially back and promoting her new single ‘Incapable‘. When I received the single I didn’t waste no time to listen and just as I expected. Cole is back to making classic ballads. We can’t deny Keyshia’s talent and she is dope at using her experiences to inspire her songs and she makes them so relatable for everybody.

I’m not excited about this song however I am looking forward to hearing Keyshia’s forthcoming seventh studio album, 11:11 Reset, due October 20th (TODAY). I do truly believe that she has some great songs to share. We need Keyshia to keep RnB alive across the waters.

Taken from Fekky’s ‘El Clasico’ debut album I think this is one of the best tracks off this album, I can not get enough of it. The production is so sick and its a great feature from Shakka. The video was shot in South Africa its a good look.

There is just something about Shakka. Even when he performs he is such a SICK artist no matter what track, production he puts out. I think what I like the most about Shakka is that he such a diverse artist that you can see it in how he dresses and we can hear it in his music. No track sounds the same and I really like how he sings over electronic, house beats but can also switch up and go into his roots.

Take You Home has grown on me the more I heard it. What I really like about Angel is how he curates his influences into his music. For example “Take You Home” is a remake of the 80’s classic “Gotta Get You Home Tonight” by Eugene Wilde. I Really like how Angel has taken a classic and made it so modern that he almost sounds like Chris Brown and hints of Trey Songz.

In my personal opinion Angel doesn’t get the credit that he deserves. The man has been doing bits for time. This is a sick remake.

Recently I have been checking out some new music to review on here, as I noticed that I have written an album/mix tape review in a while. Readers let me tell you this mixtape you will hear as been in the making for a long time and I’m so HAPPY that this artist has finally unleashed the goodness.

So who/what is 3rdnation?

J Grant also known as Joshua describes his sounds being a great balance of spoken word and rap.

I try to portray an image or a story with my words to influence some form of change of behaviour in society. I gain inspiration from real life experiences so my music is relatable & can correlate with my audience. The older I get the wiser & diverse I become. I aim to portray this in each song I write so the growth is evident.
With this project, my aim was to orchestrate patience through music (rap ). I highlight the element of frustration & the acceptance of flaws in order to appreciate the journey of growth. The learning of self value & the realisation of life being influenced by the decisions you make, not so much the environment which surrounds you.

I first connected with Josh years go when he performed his masterpiece titled ‘Mike Lowery’ he blew everyone’s one mind as he just fused with pure real lyrics that makes you connect on another level. This is where the spoken word come into his art and you can evidently here the crafted word play on this mix tape.

As I listened to ‘In My Own Time’ I knew which track gave me ears orgasms. ‘Nutn’ oozes with 100% real of word play.

The lyrics ” Hands in the air if you love your mother, mine nags too much, but i still love her. See when life gets heated like a chilli pepper there ain’t nothing like a mothers love to ease the pressure.” I love how J describes life like a chilli pepper I mean whowould of thought to describe life like a hot chilli pepper? I also thought it was very needed to hear J express his thoughts about corrupted cops and highlights whats happening in this current day, which is relatable. Instantly he caught my attention. The chorus is catchy and actually it reminded me of Yungen/Krept and Konan’s‘Ain’t on nuttin’ track.

My 2nd favourite is ‘Pick Mi Up’ as it sounds so old skool I really appreciate when rappers incorporate elements of 70’s soul and mix it up with a modern beat. I also think this track is the most well-balanced track on this mix tape. In general there are a great mixture of tracks that will get everybody’s attention.

In My Own time is a brilliant mix tape and should get the ratings it deserves. I mentioned earlier that this has been in the making for a long time and now I understand why Josh unleashed it in his own time. I fully rate this mixtape and I truly hope some of you DJ, and music deciders will take the time out to listen to good underground music. I miss rap music where I can actually recite and understand the lyrics.

In My Own Time has elements of what’s missing in some of Today’s music.

Last weekend Inspire mysmile had the pleasure of seeing the songress Brandy in concert at Birmingham O2 with performances from the rising star Rebecca James and a bad boy performance from Shakka. On the night was also entertainment from BBC 1xtra DJ Ace who got the audiences out of their seats and were dancing away to throwbacks from the 90’s era. What a night it was!!

Photo credit: Brandy Facebook page

As I was amongst the crowd I over heard quite a few people saying how “Brandy hasn’t aged at all’ she still looks as youthful like back in the Moesha days”.It was touching to hear the crowd sing every song, word for word back to the star. My personal highlight for me was the choreography, there were a few moves that just made me want to jump on the stage and join the dancers. I loved how Brandy and her two male dancers mostly stayed in a 3 formation throughout the night it was seriously entertaining.

Another moment that was very touching and emtional was the tribute the late Whitney Houston, as she took a moment to just reflect and sang parts of the ‘Shoop shoop’ sound track from the film ‘Waiting To Exhale.’ Although Brandy has some real classics and took us 90’s babies back to when R&B was proper soul, emotional music; There were times where I felt the crowd didn’t connect with Brandy and I think that could be to do with the fact that she did openly say that she is shy and actually the shy, humble and calm vibe did reflect on the stage in the first half but when she came out of shell it was just amazing to watch. To end the concert nicely there was a encore to bring Brandy back on stage, and she came back out with ‘Beggin and Pleadin.’

On thing that I will personally say is that when an artist can sing and perform on the stage as if they are recording in the studio and you hear their true vocals it’s just flawless. Brandy is truly humble, flawless and authentic.

Inspire has some exciting news to share. The beautiful multi-talented singer, songwriter Brandy will be getting down @ The Birmingham O2 Academy Saturday 25th June with special guests such as Shakka and Rebecca James. One of the UK’s leading events Musicalize in assosication with MBK Entertainment are bringing the Slayana Tour to the UK. We can expect more than just entertainment as the princess herself will be slaying and giving us all kinds of sexiness.

Check out Brandy prepping for The Slayana Tour (In these streets)

Inspire Mysmile will also be covering the concert with a full review and footage. Also you can still buy your tickets from here

Over the past month Inspire has been pretty quiet but busy behind scenes, hence why there has been lack of posts. Inspire took small break so that it can research and look for n great entertaining content and also be inspired by new features. I hope the regualar readers still continue to follow and support and if you are a new reader, Welcome to Inspire Mysmile :).

Last month Inspire went to watch the badass, firey and tipped for ‘Ones to watch 2016’ Ray Blk perform at her first headline show at the Hoxton Bar& Kitchen. Supporting artists included Tiana Major who stunned the crowd with her young vocals and I must say from start to end it was 100% great entertainment. I kind of like how the show was a all female line up with Siobhan Bell on the decks. We was also in for a treat with performances from Avelino and Stormzy.

Ray Blk

Ray has had great responses for 50/50 and is in progress of making her latest single ‘My hood’ which features Stormzy another hit. We can only hope that her album will follow sometime this year.

Couple weeks ago (2nd May) I attended the Natural Hair Week Event which was packed with good valuable nutritional information about afro hair. I went away with lots of GOODIES. I was very to purchase some Cantu products from the distributors as I find there is a massive difference in buying products from distributors to buying them in the ” Hair Beauty” shops.

There was great workshops, fantastic hair and fashion show where all the models were rocking african print designs. It was so beautiful to see a lot of the attendees were all embracing their natural hair,(except for me as I had weave unfortunately).

I was particualy inspired by Dr Lola Akingbola, I left with her book.

Dr Lola Akingbola is a Nigerian-born Medical Doctor based in London, UK with a special interest in hair and skin. Author of “8 Weeks to Longer Hair” and releasing her second book, “The Transitioning Handbook” this year. With her Masters in Clinical Dermatology from Cardiff University, she shares her knowledge of haircare online on www.lolascurls.com.

Unfortunately I didn’t get much photos as I was so engrossed and excited I actually FORGOT that this was going to be apart of the blog.. oops!!

Following on from the previous post and continuing the the theme of “Women’s Month.” I received an email from an R&B / Hip-Hop collective Code Ninety. The name stands for Chasing Our Dreams Endlessly, born in and influenced by the Nineties. The collective made up of Nico Rooney, Jadata Music and NA$E

So they hit me up wanting to share their music with us and they have one particular track that they want the ladies to hear titled “Parties N Heartbreaks.”

“Parties N Heartbreaks is our debut mixtape coming out on May 6th. The names is an implied oxymoron detailing how a relationship can be, sometimes love can feel like a party and sometimes it can feel like a heartbreak.” Interview with Celebmix

Parties N Heartbreaks has received 17,000 + views already. The boys are not stopping there as they are already working on their next releases ‘Dangerous’and ‘Whats Good’ along with their launch party in May, these boys are seriously grafting out here.

“We created a vision together as a team in October and since then we have put our all into making this debut mixtape, every single, every video, every show, every penny and all the panning has led us to this launch party and we can’t wait for you to join us on our journey into making this dream happen”!

Code Ninety (Chasing Our Dreams Endlessly, Born in the Nineties) are having a launch party to celebrate the release of their debut mixtape “Parties N Heartbreaks”. Come party, drink out of #RedCups and dance with Code Ninety.

The launch party includes live performances from Code Ninety, showcasing some of thier material from #PNH. They will be joined by special guests and DJ’s that will be playing your favourite R&B and Hip-Hop songs from 8:00pm till midnight.

SWV, also known as Sisters with Voices, are the American Grammy-award nominated female R&B/pop trio from New York. Formed in 1990, SWV had a series of hits, including “Weak”, “Right Here/Human Nature”, “I’m So Into You.”

After a 15 years gap the trio are back with their 5th studio album titled ‘Still.’

Cheryl “Coko” Clemons, Tamara “Taj” George, and Leanne “Lelee” Lyons spent a few years apart after their incredible run together, but they reunited two years ago for I Missed Us,

The 10 tracklisted album is sounding strong with songs like ‘Aint no man’, ‘Still into you’ and ‘Man Crush Everyday’, I would say SWV still have it, if not better than back in the 90’s.

What I don’t understand is why wasn’t there any real hype in the UK for this release? I didn’t really see the usual entertainment sites promote, or write reviews, or maybe I’ve been living under a rock. I may be late with this album but its a privilege to actually feature one of THE hottest R&B girl groups one Inspire Mysmile.

Listening to the album I would give it a stong 8/10 because I like that album starts with 3 GREAT songs instantly I took a personal liking to Still, MCE (Man Crush Everyday) and although it is track 5 I personally think ‘Aint No Man’ should have been track 3 as it simply highlights why we like SWV just like 90’s they lock in their melodies so beautifully it takes me back to ‘Weak.’

Ain’t No Man Video

I like how they sound very current on ‘Love Song’as it has the typcial DJ Mustard/Harmony Samuels beats. I can easily hear this in the clubs. I think Love song is great as it take them out of their comfort zone and it breaks down the album nicely.